Wood anemones

Wood Anemones - Anemone nemorosa

NGAG volunteers re-introduced some wood anemones to Newington Green in 2009. These dainty little native flowers used to grow wild in our local area, when it was far more wooded than it is now. These anemones have not been taken from the wild (which is illegal) but were bought from a reputable source.

Anemones are woodland edge plants that bloom in early Spring, before the leaves come out on trees above them. They are a member of the buttercup family, ranunculaceae, they are perennial, have rhizomes and after flowering, the leaves die back and the plant remains alive but hidden underground for many months.

The star-shaped flowers follow the sun as it crosses the sky during the day. The flowers are faintly scented, which attracts honey bees and other pollen-collecting insects. When the wood anemones have established themselves, they may spread to form carpets of flowers on Newington Green in Spring, as they do in woodlands.

March 2010